Summoner's Sword
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Not everything had been wiped out by the fire, and in the wake of the tragedy a greater shock emerges for Kiritsugu. His son, Shirou, is in fact the heir to the Harvenheit family, rival clan of the Von Einzberns and masters of a jewelcraft magic several steps above the Tohsaka clan of Fuyuki. Can Shirou reconcile with his two selves, or will he tear himself apart from within?
1. Chapter 1

_**This is a Chrono Crusade/FSN cross, with limited interaction from Chrono Crusade.**_

* * *

The fire. It was the first thing he could remember as "Shirou Emiya", for that was when he first saw the smile that would change his world.

Kiritsugu adopted him, never knowing that he had saved a fellow Magus.

So imagine his surprise when a known Magus lawyer from Germany (he was often hired by the von Einzbern, enough said) showed up at his doorstep.

Mr. Acker looked at Kiritsugu with some amusement, and immediately said "I'm not here representing your wife's family today. Rather I'm here representing your new son's birth family, who were eager to find him."

"Come in," said Kiritsugu, after a moment. Acker didn't care much about the Root or even about other Magi. He got paid enough to represent them in the Magus Association when ruining another family financially or pleading the case of a favored member was easier. But his fees were expensive to those he didn't like.

Kiritsugu had always gotten along with him, because Acker was a no-nonsense Magus who didn't put up with the bullshit of others. Acker made quite a mint settling estate disputes whenever Kiritsugu finished a job, so they got along a little too well.

Shirou was currently with the Fujimura clan's granddaughter, buying groceries. It also doubled as a Japanese lesson, since the amnesia apparently extended to Shirou's memory of languages for some odd reason.

He had a passable knowledge of English, and he could barely comprehend Japanese.

"So why didn't you show up sooner?"

"The family only received word that a red-haired child matching the heir's description was seen at an area hospital. They had come here to broker a marriage contract with the Tohsaka family when the fire broke out."

There was only one family that would bother to broker a contract with the Tohsaka, considering how 'young' they were. Not to mention the fact that they were only noteworthy in that Zelretch threw them a bone once and they helped to create the Grail Wars by volunteering their family lands.

"Shirou is from the Harvenheit family?!"

"The heir, in fact. He showed a particular knack for the family's Jewel Summoning art, more so than any of the other members. He's scheduled to have his family Crest added to him when he turns fifteen, or when he finishes basic Magus trials."

"I take it some of the family doesn't want him to claim the crest?"

"To put it mildly. Some of them tried to hire me to kill him if found alive."

Kiritsugu snorted. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

"However if you were to name him your son and give him what's left of the Emiya crest, then they'll have no reason to come after him."

"That explains why he can't speak Japanese very well," sighed Kiritsugu. "If I were to train Shirou until he reached the standard required, could he still obtain the crest?"

"He would have only one chance. Each heir has to prove themselves worthy of the honor to be head of the family, and they only get one shot. If he fails, then it defaults back to the previous heir."

"Sensible," said Kiritsugu.

"I agree."

Acker brought out what looked like some sort of odd diamond on a simple necklace.

"This is what they use to test the worthiness of the heir. When he's ready to try his luck, tell him to put some of his blood on the gem. If it accepts him as head of the family, then he'll know pretty fast. If not, he'll just get the safety deposit box with the standard amount of jewels and some of the research left by his parents. Here's the key to it, as well as the address in Fuyuki."

Kiritsugu took the gem and the key.

"If he's not the heir, then what?"

"Then you call me and I'll return the testing gem to the family, no questions asked. The only thing that will happen is that he'll become head of the Emiya clan instead."

Who knew, maybe Kiritsugu could use this as a chance to reclaim Illyasviel from the von Einzbern family.

"Now, are there any questions?"

"I'll call you if anything comes up."

With the knowledge of which family Shirou actually came from, and a basic idea of what he could do, Kiritsugu decided to try another tactic when training him.

He was going to try and bring the "Magus" Shirou out, since his current self could only use reinforcement and structural analysis.

So Kiritsugu did something he would normally laugh off as 'nonsense'.

He put Shirou under hypnosis, in the hopes that his 'former' self was still in there somewhere, simply buried.

Much to his surprise (and relief) he lucked out. The Harvenheit side of his son was still very much alive, just stuck in Shirou's subconscious. The only problem?

He couldn't remember his own name. Oh, he remembered which family he came from, and the lessons he had taken to learn Jewel Summoning (which was the family's proudest contribution to magecraft), but small things like his full name escaped him.

So Kiritsugu decided to give him the chance to come up with a new name for himself.

The name Shirou's original self chose?

Säbel Harvenheit Emiya.

Mostly because Säbel knew what "Shirou's" element and origin were...and they weren't exactly good for learning normal magic.

Shirou was a "Sword". Säbel was a "Jewel" with access to all five of the standard elements. Hence why Säbel was considered the heir...he could use most of the Jewel Summons with an efficacy that the previous heir couldn't.

Which meant Kiritsugu would have to alter his lesson plan for "Shirou", while teaching Säbel everything he knew about magecraft.

Mostly because Säbel agreed that if he found Illya he would do everything in his power to get her away from the von Einzbern clan.

The Harvenheit clan was just below the Einzbern, so naturally they had something of a 'rivalry', despite the fact they were slightly smaller in number.

And getting one over the Einzbern by taking the next "Lesser Grail" from them would naturally appeal to the Harvenheit family. So much so that they agreed to send tutors in the event something happened to Kiritsugu.

* * *

 _Six years after the Fourth Grail Wars end..._

Kiritsugu's death was a hard blow for Shirou, even if he died rather peacefully. Sadly Shirou couldn't help but feel as though he was partially responsible for his father dying early.

Three months before he died, Kiritsugu gave Shirou what little remained of the Emiya crest. Shirou was now the dubious 'head' of the Emiya clan, which only had only one or two members...and almost no crest to speak of.

The most Shirou was able to do with his new 'family crest' was make it easier to carry around his magus equipment without any normal people noticing it. He simply used it to make a 'pocket' outside of time by a few seconds, which he could access by 'slowing' or 'speeding' the item he needed until it synced up with him.

It made carrying books around so much easier.

Shortly after, when Taiga's grandfather called the number Kiritsugu gave in the event he died, someone from Shirou's birth family came to teach him magecraft...though they had already been warned to 'hypnotize' him if they wanted teach Shirou anything and actually make progress. Shirou was good at runes, projection, reinforcement and he had the nose of a bloodhound when it came to magecraft.

Säbel was the prodigy at magecraft, and he took to the lessons far better than his 'surface' self did.

In terms of magic, Säbel was superior to Shirou. However in terms of personality, Shirou was liked more than Säbel was, because he was honestly nice.

Säbel preferred the term "hopelessly naïve, but not to the point of complete stupidity". Most people (mainly Taiga who ended up finding out about "Säbel" by accident) thought Shirou's other personality was a bit of a jerk, even if he was the better fighter of the two.

Taiga thought Säbel was an ass...even if the most Shirou could do about him was keep him from being an indiscriminate killer. You couldn't gloat about being the superior Magus if your opponent was dead after all.

Still, Shirou felt sad about his dad's death. He was the only one that really encouraged him to become a hero.

Even though Säbel thought it was a rather naïve dream.

Shirou decided to go on a walk and enjoy the sunset before he went home for a rather lonely night. He wasn't expecting to find a lawyer waiting for him.

" _Guten Abend, Herr Harvenheit."_

 _(Good evening, Mr. Harvenheit.)_

"Good evening, Mr. Acker."

"Gomen, I forget you don't speak German as Shirou, Emiya-san."

"I take it this is about my dad?"

"Indeed. Kiritsugu-san made sure that you would not be lacking in instruction should his demise come before you had completed your basic Magus studies, so he asked me to act as a go-between with an up-and-coming teacher at Clock Tower. Lord El-Mellio agreed to be your teacher until you at least had the basics down, but if you want additional instruction you can work something out later."

Acker then pulled out a letter.

"This is your father's last will and testament, written right before he gave you the Emiya family crest. There is also a letter from Kiritsugu-san himself, for you and for one other."

Shirou blinked.

"Who gets the other letter?"

"Kiritsugu's daughter, your step-sister Illyasviel von Einsbern."

"...I have a sister?"

"An older sister. She's the daughter of Kiritsugu and the previous Lesser Grail of the Grail Wars, Irisviel. Unfortunately all attempts to barter for her with the von Einzbern family have failed. Apparently Jubstacheit was very angry at the fact Kiritsugu ordered his Servant to destroy the Grail, rather than retrieve it like he had been ordered."

Shirou winced.

"Why do I have the feeling that's going to come back and haunt me later?"

"Most likely," agreed Acker. "Now about your training. You can chose to either attempt a claim towards the title as Heir and future head of the Harvenheit family at fifteen, or until you finish your studies. However, you must wait no later than your twentieth birthday to stake a claim. If proven worthy, you will automatically receive the noble phantasm of the family. The method of delivery was not disclosed to me, however the effect should be within five minutes."

"And if I don't prove worthy?"

"Then you still can claim to be a Harvenheit, but the most you'll get from the family is the safety deposit box left by your birth parents here in Fuyuki with the research materials of their branch and the standard arraignment of jewels to work with. There was also an undisclosed amount of money that can be converted to yen," said Ackers immediately. "This doesn't include the money Kiritsugu left for you."

That money was being managed by Taiga's grandfather until Shirou learned how to do it himself.

"There is also the matter of the contents of Kiritsugu's safety deposit box for you to examine after you've completed your training in the basics. Once I've confirmed you qualify as a proper Magus by the Association's standard, then I will hand the key to you as per his instructions."

"And what about that contract you told dad about when you first came here?" asked Shirou.

"That contract is considered on hold until we have the agreement of the head of the Tohsaka clan, as he failed to sign it shortly before his demise in the last war. Depending on whether the girl in question finds the contract and signs it after obtaining the Tohsaka crest, it may become void."

"So there's nothing I can do."

"Not legally, no. Kiritsugu never had a copy of the original contract, and the one in the hands of the Tohsaka clan went missing after the war."

Shirou didn't exactly like that, but there was nothing he could do. At least he wasn't potentially engaged to the Edelfelt clan...he'd heard things about the heiress. Terrifying things.

* * *

Waver Velvet El-Melloi wasn't entirely sure how he felt about being in Fuyuki again. Especially with a prospective student that was apparently close to the Magus Killer.

So imagine his surprise when he finally met this "Shirou Emiya" in person.

He was nothing like his adopted father, let alone any Magus Waver had to deal with considering _who_ had hired him to teach the kid. The Harvenheit family were almost as snobbish as the Einzbern clan. Almost.

"So, how far along are you in your studies?" asked Waver, after eating a late lunch. It was better than any of his attempts.

"Oh, I'm not actually the one you're teaching. The most I've ever done was master reinforcement, projection and a decent amount of runes and ward schemes. Säbel is the one who needs the lessons."

"Who is Säbel?"

Shirou blinked.

"Mr. Acker didn't warn you?"

"Warn me about what?"

Shirou sighed.

"It's easier to show you than to explain. Let's just say there's a reason why I never got past projection and runes."

Shirou muttered something under his breath in German, and much to Waver's disbelief, there was a subtle shift in him. It was hard to put his finger on it exactly, but he went from an easygoing nice guy who wasn't exactly that good at traditional magecraft, to a highborn Magus.

It was when Shirou looked Waver in the eye that he knew that this wasn't the same person who had welcomed him into the home.

"What the heck?"

"Call me Säbel. It's easier that way."

Even his tone was different. Not to mention the clear German accent in his Japanese.

"And who is Säbel?"

"The original personality. Now buried under the hopelessly naïve Shirou Emiya. From what I understand, you were here for the last war, correct?"

"I left before it ended. I wasn't going to take another Servant after losing mine," said Waver.

"Do you recall the Fire that erupted at the end of it?"

"I heard about it. Wait, you're not saying?"

"The fire almost erased the original personality, which was barely saved by adding it as a subconscious 'secondary' one. As a result, Shirou is the day-to-day face, while Säbel is the 'Magus' oriented personality. As a side effect, I am better at Magecraft than Shirou, while Shirou is better at the everyday ordinary things like cooking."

"So that's why you need someone to train you."

"Shirou has an element and origin that limits his capability as a Magus. I have one that is almost perfectly suited to my family's brand of jewel magecraft, but no one to help me adjust it so I can stake my claim as heir. You were highly recommended since you had already been to Fuyuki before and knew how to speak Japanese."

Not to mention the fact that Waver was considered a "traditional" Master for the Grail War, which according to a recent study would start fifty years too early. Säbel needed to be trained now, before it restarted, if he wanted to insure that they didn't get killed off.

"So why did Shirou suddenly speak German?"

Säbel had an annoyed look on his face.

"Shirou was tired of being hypnotized, so he came up with a passphrase that was easy to remember in German to bring me out without help."

Waver nodded. That was a good idea.

"Shall we get started then? I'll need to know where you're at to see how long this might take," said Waver.

Good thing Säbel set up a 'temporary' workshop and warded it against Taiga.


	2. Chapter 2

Shirou was reading the profiles of the past Servants and Masters of the last four Grail Wars.

Amusingly enough, some of them also included the 'wish' of the Servants themselves.

Right now he was reading King "Arthur", who was really named Arturia. Finding out that the famous King of Knights was really a girl hiding as a boy wasn't surprising. Women were looked down upon in the Middle Ages, and few would take a female warrior seriously. Never mind the fact they would take offense to a woman being the "king".

However it was when he got to the wish that he almost stopped stirring the stew he was making while reading the profiles Waver-sensei gave him.

Shirou frowned and reread it, thinking that he had read the English wrong. Waver might speak Japanese, but he couldn't write in it. Hence why everything he sent was in English.

So when he finished the stew and left it to simmer for a thirty minutes to thicken up, he went and got his dictionary.

No, apparently he had read that right.

"King Arthur's wish was to change the selection of the king? How selfish and stupid is that?"

Changing the selection would mean that she wanted to dishonor all the men that died for her legend to be remembered forever, not to mention all the hard work and sacrifices she had to make in order to get that far.

In retrospect, Shirou could respect the previous War's Rider Servant more than he could Saber. Iskander had a simple, but rather easy to understand wish. He just wanted to be reborn and conquer everyone again. Even Archer had a wish he could somewhat respect.

Gilgamesh didn't care for the Grail, but if he had a wish it was probably to be reunited with his only friend. To him, the Grail was just another possession.

Shirou finished up the rice, which would off-set the stew.

One of the things Waver had been nice enough to give Shirou to study was cookbooks. Specifically ones from different countries like England, Germany, China, Korea, America and Greece.

Why he had that many books from that many countries, Shirou had no idea. Taiga, however, officially loved Waver for it. Because it encouraged Shirou to experiment with his cooking. Even if it meant his spice cabinet was stocked with well over a hundred different spices...all in alphabetical order. They had to be, if he wanted to find anything in time.

Shirou shook his head. He would reserve judgment on King Arthur for now. He had to finish supper first.

Shirou finished his cooking and waited for the insatiable Taiga to make her appearance.

And right on queue, Hurricane Taiga arrived with a loud roar demanding food.

 _'Thank the Root she likes you more than me. I don't think she could handle my cooking,'_ said Säbel.

When Shirou was fifteen, he and Säbel worked together to make a bracelet which contained all the different varieties of jewels left by their parents before the fire. Shirou made the bracelet which had the rune sequence they found in the journals, while Säbel made sure the jewels went into the correct fittings in the right sequence.

So now Säbel could use the jewels without having to worry about dropping them.

However as a consequence of working so closely together, Shirou and Säbel could now 'hear' the other side. While they couldn't use the other's magecraft, it was something of an improvement considering they were 'separate' before.

Taiga once considered sending Shirou to a therapist, considering he had a split personality disorder, but the sad fact was that it would have been far more disturbing for Shirou _not_ to have some weird mental quirk after walking through that fire and surviving.

Having a second voice in his head was practically tame compared to what he could have developed, even if Säbel was an ass.

"So have you finished your homework Shirou?"

"All that's left is chemistry, and you know Säbel is the only one who can understand half of that gibberish."

It was funny really. Shirou was an excellent cook, but couldn't understand a word in five of his chemistry or biology books. Whereas Säbel was a natural chemist, but couldn't boil water to save his life, never mind cook. One would think the two would go hand in hand, but for some reason there was a communication issue between the two distinct personalities.

Which was why the only time Säbel ever attended class was during chemistry, biology or any other science and math class, and Shirou kept control during the daily routine.

And where Shirou spoke fluent Japanese and passable English, Säbel spoke Japanese and English with a distinct German accent. That was usually how Taiga was able to tell the two apart.

"So long as you get it done. You're the only fourteen-year-old I know that actually takes advanced chemistry classes before they even get into high school," said Taiga cheerfully.

In fact Säbel had to attend the classes _with_ high school students, because the chemistry department in the secondary school was lacking the materials for the advanced classes he attended. It was a good thing the schools were so close together.

As they finished dinner...and Säbel finished the last of the homework, they settled into the dojo.

Taiga was rather insistent that Shirou spar with her, since he was quite likely the ONLY person who wasn't outright terrified of the tiger image she let loose when she was having a bit too much fun.

Once she left for the night, Shirou made sure the doors were locked before heading to the shed out back. Unknown to Taiga or Waver-sensei, Shirou and Säbel had managed to work out a secondary Workshop under the shed...right beneath the 'makeshift' one Shirou used to throw off the scent.

The shed was more of a place where Shirou could mess around with his magecraft, since rune work and projection didn't require much of a workshop.

Underneath the shed was another story. There was a ladder that was hidden under the staircase and what appeared to be a collection of junk. It was actually a board that had been masterfully painted to look like odds and ends under the stairs, on the two visible areas. To add to the security, Shirou had added a series of wards that made people automatically dismiss the junk under the stairs and focus more on the workshop above.

Though considering how much time Shirou spent inside that shed, he had added an extra futon in the second floor of the shop, as well as some decent lighting.

A dark and mysterious interior was a good backdrop for magic studies, but was highly impractical. And even Säbel was willing to agree that having the room lit by bright lighting made it easier to see what you were doing...especially since Shirou installed a 'dimming' switch so they could adjust the level of light in the underground room.

Once inside the shed, Shirou let Säbel out for the night. They almost had a good grasp of how to perform the jewel 'summoning' spell that created a construct of pure prana packed in one of the gems on their bracelet.

As soon as they figured that part out, they would adjust all the gems so that they could use it any time they needed to.

According to the old research journals, the original jewel summoners used gloves. And from what little he had gleaned, most of the constructs were like psuedo Servants...just highly unstable.

Säbel and Shirou thought the glove route was highly impractical. For one thing, the rune sequence alone could tell anyone that knew runes (like the Fraga clan) what the glove did, and thus give them a reason to take the hand off. For another, the constructs were simply too unstable for their taste. While the summoning aspect was good, the constructs still needed work.

If Säbel or Shirou were going to survive the Grail Wars, then they would need something with a bit more kick than the original constructs. And the idea of just leaving the fighting to the constructs like everyone else in the Harvenheit clan left a bad taste in Shirou's mouth.

Which was what Säbel was working on now.

Reconstructing the 'weapons' of the summons on a smaller scale that Shirou could use with the smaller bracelet, since he was right handed. If Säbel could make the weapons, then as the sword fighter of the two, Shirou could do some major damage.

Even if it meant having the two personalities work together for an unspecified amount of time, they didn't mind. After all, if they had to resort to a "Jewel Sword", then the only thing that either side would be focusing on was survival of themselves and any potential allies.

And depending on what they were dealing with, either side could take control.

The fact that the Tohsaka clan wasn't the only one to receive a basic description of the infamous 2nd Magician's Jewel Sword didn't help either. Säbel was determined to recreate it, if only to annoy the people in Clock Tower because he refused to join their association.

He wasn't an idiot. If he joined the Magus Association he might as well write his own death sentence. With Shirou possessing an honest-to-Root Reality Marble in his soul, there was no way in hell they could join and hope to hide that fact.

Though it might limit them in terms of research, they still had a teacher who was part of the Association, and by the time they finished that, most of the things they would need would be part of some other family's research anyway.

Like Shirou's studies on Runes. He had mastered the basics, but any extensive work on them would require someone to give him part of their family research, which wasn't likely to happen any time soon.

Which was why they hoped to get either a Caster or a Servant that knew a lot about magecraft. They really didn't want Saber or Assassin, as it was unlikely they would be very useful. And power didn't concern them as much as knowledge.

* * *

Okay, let's go back and examine how this week turned weird.

First they came across a freshman who needed help, and ended up in the archery club to shut up Taiga. That was fairly easy to handle.

Then, and this was what threw Shirou for a loop, the freshman Sakura seemed to have attached herself to him and insisted on helping him cook to feed Taiga.

This was where Shirou was having trouble.

As Säbel, he knew the Makiri had renamed their family as "Matou" in order to escape the pure embarrassment of having the only _living_ relative capable of bearing children turn out to have not even a single respectable circuit in his body. It had been so bad that they had to barter with the Tohsaka clan for one of their daughters just to salvage what little respect that could be had of their magecraft.

As Shirou, he could tell there was something very wrong in the Matou home, but was unable to do anything about it personally. Mostly because in order to help Sakura, he would have to claim a superior bloodline first. The Emiya clan was out...it was a small clan of only two people, one of which was Shirou himself.

Which meant if he wanted to save Sakura, and start his path of becoming a Hero that didn't sacrifice the few to save the many, he would have to claim the title as Heir of the Harvenheit clan.

Säbel could care less about saving people. He was a Magus through and through. However Sakura had a personality he could appreciate, and there was something to be said about having a connection with the family that came up with the idea for Command Seals in the first place.

As loathsome as working with the girl's "Grandfather" was, not to mention that idiot Shinji, as allies go he could do slightly worse.

Not much worse, but worse. Like Kiritsugu's enemies or people he had pissed off worse.

However, Sakura was originally a Tohsaka. That meant she had some idea of Jewelcraft, and a possible in with the family that abandoned her. Especially since from what he understood, the sisters had been close before the exchange.

Which meant Rin might want her sister back. Enough so that she would help Säbel with his work in stabilizing the constructs...preferably without her finding out about the contract in the process.

* * *

When Sakura first saw what was obviously Shirou's workshop, Magus etiquette (and an uncertainty on whether Shirou knew that it was considered beyond rude to enter another's workshop without permission) kept her from doing more than a cursory scan, completely bypassing the area under the stairs after noting the obvious junk piled underneath.

So imagine her surprise when one night during a "tutoring" session (which had been Shirou's idea upon recognizing that something was obviously very wrong with her home) he brought up what were clearly some of his magecraft notes. Which were written in a mixture of Japanese and what appeared to be German. Fortunately he had a few dictionaries handy. Actually, he had close to ten, all of them in different languages to cross check one or more of the others.

Which was slightly odd until Shirou explained why. Apparently he had a few books in different languages, mainly cook books, and in order to make sure he had the translation right he cross checked it with a similar dictionary that had a different language.

It was time consuming, but it worked better than one would think to insure the translation was correct...or as close as one could get.

Coincidentally language was one of Shirou's best subjects, as he was fluent in three and hoping to get a fourth soon.

But then Shirou dropped the bombshell that almost had her panicking.

He knew. He recognized her family name the moment she was introduced, but didn't hold her to the reputation it had in the Magus circles. Mostly because he was also very aware her birth name wasn't Makiri, but Tohsaka.

The only weird thing was that his accent kept shifting from Japanese to what almost sounded like High German.

But what struck Sakura the most was the fact that Shirou had hopes she could help him with something involving what was clearly jewelcraft...something her birth family was well known for. Or at least in the top three.

And when Shirou (with a distinct German accent now) said something about proving to the family that they handed over the wrong daughter, well, the vindictive side of the abused child that had suffered unspeakable horrors rose up. She usually called her "Dark Sakura".

Dark Sakura liked the idea of proving that Rin was the lesser magus, even if she would never have condemned her sister to the horrors she had been forced to live through at the tender age of five.

With a slightly smug grin and a happy song in her heart, Sakura agreed to help Shirou with his work on the makeshift Jewel Sword.

It would serve her father right for saying Rin was the superior heir.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Had to bury my aunt Cassie today. Please pray for our family.**_

* * *

Sakura's limited knowledge of jewelcraft (the Tohsaka kind anyway) proved invaluable. Having someone to hash ideas out with late at night, surprisingly with her 'Grandfather' approving of the arrangement meant that Säbel's work actually had some decent progress.

Her education under Waver proved she was a very talented Magus, just given either poor instruction or lessons that simply didn't suit her at all.

Whatever the Makiri line of magecraft was, it wasn't pleasant.

Sakura was just happy that Zouken agreed to let her continue her blossoming friendship with Shirou Emiya when she happened to mention he was trying to recreate the Jewel Sword.

She just left out the fact it wasn't the same one that Zelretch was known for using. Shirou wanted to find a way to use the energy from the gems into actual weapons, something the Tohsaka had tried for years, but never figured out how. The closest they had gotten was turning gemstones into actual bombs or as a way to store prana for later for other use.

What Shirou had access to was far beyond what her family had before she was sent to the Matou.

And Sakura loved it, because it meant she could infuriate her sister by being the better Jewel mage.

Best of all, because she spent so much time with Shirou, she spent almost _no_ time in the worm pit or near her 'brother' Shinji, who was cruel an abusive on Zouken's orders.

So when she finally found out Shirou had his own quirks that he had been keeping quiet from Taiga, she took it in stride.

Multiple personality disorder? It just meant they had more in common.

Finding out that his other personality was German with a similar element to her sister? Odd, but she could work with that.

Learning how damaged mentally Shirou was? Well, she happened to agree with Säbel's assessment of the boy she was quickly falling for.

Shirou was indeed 'hopelessly naïve, but not to the point of complete stupidity'.

Sakura could only hope he wasn't so naïve that he failed to recognize the signs she was starting to fall in love with him.

Or if he did, that Säbel recognized them for what it was.

* * *

Säbel was in the middle of modifying the spell used for summoning when he decided to try something out.

He was right about to summon a small animal out of the usual jewel summoning spell when he noticed something odd happening with his bracelet. On a hunch, he altered it to make it visible...and much to his shock a sword made of pure energy, prismatic in color but still quite visible, came out. It almost looked like a light saber out of _Star Wars_ , just a bit too wide and the point was quite a bit sharper.

Which gave him an unusual, if amusing idea.

Neither Säbel or Shirou were otaku. They preferred getting their hands dirty repairing, modifying or just being outside. However the idea of a light saber had appealed to Shirou, enough so that one night out of boredom he had looked up how they were made.

Imagine their surprise when they learned 'light sabers' were powered by crystals... and that the 'color' of the 'saber' was determined by the properties and coloration of the crystal used.

Almost exactly like their jewel summon constructs.

Coincidentally there had been a single, almost illegible notebook by one of their ancestors about a sword in which the technique was altered slightly to use something called the 'Astral Line'. A sword that almost fit the description of a 'light saber', just that it didn't glow or make the noise. There was also no record on whether it could cut through almost anything.

However there were notes on how it was made, which was something he could use. But since he hadn't the faintest idea of what this Astral Line stuff was, he would have to alter the sword.

And with this success in making a crude, if still recognizable sword, he might have some decent progress for once.

Now to see if the Harvenheit family would be open to ordering the components to make a 'jewel sword'. Odds were they might if he agreed to share some of his notes on how to make a crude one out of cheap quartz.

Säbel made sure to write down his progress, what he did and how, then copy it onto a computer.

Most Magi wouldn't think to put their research onto something as advanced as a USB, but Säbel knew most Magus-born idiots wouldn't know how to do more than surf the internet, let alone hack a computer. It was the reason Kiritsugu had been so frighteningly effective at tracking down and killing the people.

At least now he knew he was on the right track to helping Shirou pull his weight in a mage fight.

* * *

Shirou signed off for the box with the international stamp, and took it inside his shed. Taiga knew that the shed was "Shirou's space" and not to enter without permission. It was the one place he could be himself. So she wouldn't open the box and ask any awkward questions later.

And Sakura followed the Magus code of etiquette and wouldn't enter unless he invited her in.

Since they had a day off tomorrow, Säbel would be working on the sword all day. Under normal circumstances, he might have asked Sakura not to bother coming. However hearing even a fraction of what she lived with in the Makiri mansion was enough that he simply told her to make any room in the house her own workshop, and if any of her 'family' asked, she was to tell them she was helping him with his research.

She could come over any time, provided she didn't disturb the shed without getting permission first.

And no, Säbel wasn't completely blind to the fact that Sakura had a bit of hero-worship combined with hormones aimed in his direction. Not like Shirou was at any rate.

Shirou was so obsessed with replicating the smile he saw on Kiritsugu's face when he saved the boy that he failed to notice the obvious fact that Sakura was falling for him...hard. Säbel was dispassionate enough about the 'dream' and observant enough to recognize the affection.

An affection which even someone as blind as Taiga had begun to notice and hint at.

Säbel descended into _his_ workshop, locking the door that only had a sort of 'doorbell' ward on it to warn him if someone stood at the door for more than five seconds.

It didn't make a sound, per say, but it felt like someone had left their phone on vibrate against his skin. And if that didn't work as an alarm, there was always the secondary.

Shirou and Säbel both liked to listen to classical music. Most people didn't. So he often left his radio on loud enough to reach the open basement door. Generally speaking, anyone who came into his workshop often turned the radio off first since they couldn't hear if Shirou was in or not.

And since he had an extension that lead to the upstairs, he could make it look like he had been napping on the cot without revealing his real workshop.

Säbel loved to leave his false trails.

"Hammer. Chisel. Blow torch..." muttered Säbel.

He lined everything up to the specs he had found in the journal. His ancestor, like most Magi, loved to make notes.

Säbel went to work slowly melting, engraving, welding and forming the metal. He was methodical, precise, and was very glad his family had been thoughtful enough to include spares.

They could care less about his interest in the Astral Line, as it had been deemed useless once they realized that only a select group of people chosen at random could even use it, and it couldn't even be passed down. So they had abandoned it in favor of furthering their jewelcraft and summoning.

Säbel worked on his new toy every night for three months. It took up all his spare time, because he didn't classify his time with Sakura as 'free time'.

After all, they were working towards a mutually beneficial goal.

Proving their family wrong. For Sakura, it was to show her father he had handed over the wrong daughter, and that he should have just married her off instead. For Säbel, it was to prove to the Harvenheit family that just because they only sent half-assed tutors, he was a true prodigy of their family name and would be heir, despite the fact he wasn't trained by his parents.

Right before Sabel's sixteenth birthday, he finished his new sword. Now it was time to power it.

Säbel took out a single gem. It was one of the few flawless ones he had in his collection, but he had no real use for it until he stumbled across those notes.

He had his music at a tolerable level in the basement workshop, while he began to chant in time with the music.

He could feel himself connecting to something bigger, almost spiritual even. The emerald he had picked out because it was the last of his 'flawless' collection began to glow from an inner light. If Säbel had to put a name to the color, it was a glowing sea green, except not. It was hard to describe.

Elsewhere, close to Kyoto, a certain purple haired alien looked up as he felt the Astral Lines moving since the incident that lead to him regaining his horns and losing his girlfriend Rosette. And he scrambled to get his last remaining sibling to track where the hell all that power was going, because this shouldn't be happening!

Säbel almost collapsed on the ground, because drawing that much power should have killed him. All Magus-born knew the results if you overdid it and tried to grasp more than you were prepared for. Death, usually in a painful, almost messy way. Being cooked from the inside wasn't fun.

But he wasn't even tired. Instead he was practically bouncing with energy, and it _made no sense!_

Whatever this Astral Line was, it was more potent than anything he felt.

At this point, Säbel was just glad his sword worked, even if it didn't look like a light saber like he intended. It was still a potent weapon, and stronger than any blade made in this era. Possibly even trumping the Church's infamous Black Keys.

Now, where to test this out properly? Swordsmen who knew magic were hard to come by, and few would have a magical blade.

Then it hit him. The Einzbern castle. No one was using it, and they wouldn't bother with it until the War started. And if there were wards around the place, well, it wasn't like there would be anyone there now, or there in time to find who was intruding would it? He could practice his summons, learn how to use his new blade, and if the castle was damaged then he could enjoy the fact that he had done something to annoy his clan's rivals.

Mind made up, Säbel grabbed his things and almost ran headfirst into Sakura who was telling him dinner was ready.

Okay, dinner first, and then practice with his new toy. He could use a break from being underground for the better part of three months.

* * *

Most girls would be having a panic attack seeing their crush fight a giant glowing monster made out of jewel energy and prana, using only a thick blade that seemed to glow from an internal light.

Sakura was not most girls. Instead she was recording everything with the help of several video cameras that Säbel would use later to examine his stance and the mistakes he made. Besides, Säbel rarely got to practice with his bigger summons because they were too flashy and would alert Rin (among others) that he was there practicing magecraft.

Shirou was still waiting for the perfect time to drop a certain bombshell on the fake priest. Specifically the full force of the Fuyuki police department, among others. Particularly the Enforcers, and quite possibly the Church itself, because the last thing the Magus Association or the Church needed was such a horrific scandal to break out.

A scandal like a large group of orphans from the infamous Fuyuki fire just happening to go missing from the Church...and absolutely no records of them being adopted out or seen again.

Shirou had used Taiga's grandfather to get the evidence...legally... by using the subject as an essay report for his history class. A paper that got above full marks and ensured he passed the midterm that year.

The subject of his paper?

" _The Effects of the Fuyuki Fire, and the Orphans that Came From It."_

Because Shirou was one of said orphans, the teachers had deemed it appropriate enough. He didn't even have to sick Taiga on them.

And the fact that none of the Fuyuki Orphans (as they were collectively called) were ever seen or heard from again if they had been sent to the Church (and a grand total of thirty had been sent there), was more than suspicious. Suspicious enough that even the head of the Fujimura clan had been more than willing to look deeper, if clan matters hadn't gotten in the way.

Shirou had appeased him by swearing he would drop this particular bomb on the Fuyuki police department if it ever became an issue.

He planned to do it once he started seeing foreing Magi coming into the city, if only to get rid of the fake priest. A priest who had been a Master in the previous war and would almost likely still have Inactive Command Seals. Command Seals that made him a very viable threat. A threat even his late father Kiritsugu had acknowledged during the Fourth Grail War.

There were only two people who could have 'won' that war, had Kiritsugu not forced it to end by ordering Saber to destroy the Grail.

Kiritsugu Emiya, and the fake priest Kirei Kotomine.

For the first time in a long time, Säbel got to go all out with his magecraft.

He put the newly forged sword through it's paces (the blade itself had been made by a Magus who had landed a Sealing Designation, but made his money by selling weapons to Enforcers), learning how to alter the amount of power going through it on the fly. He was always better with the practical than he was with the studying. It came with his other, less than whole self being a "Sword" in body, mind and soul.

Säbel was the sane one. Shirou was the weapon and the face he put on for the normal people to make them lower their defenses.

He called a time out, partly to get something to drink, but mostly so he had a chance to switch out his weapons.

Now it was Shirou's turn to have some fun. He was putting the "Jewel Sword" through it's paces. Learning how to keep his weapon stabilized during a real fight was an important lesson. One Shirou had been eager to test out, since the only one who could remotely give him a fight where he could test it was Zouken, and they weren't suicidal.

So as Shirou got to have the fun of using sharp, pointy blades made out of prana and focused through jewels, Sakura decided to the Magus-driven thing.

She raided the Einzbern's library. Säbel had more or less diverted the wards for a while, courtesy of the lessons Kiritsugu had given him before his death involving how to break though wards without setting them off.

If Säbel had to guess, it was partly because he was a Harvenheit and Kiritsugu had been bitter because Jubestacheit refused to hand over Kiritsugu's daughter (and his adopted sister), but mostly because it was the only reasonable place to practice magecraft like jewel summoning without bringing the Magus Association on his ass.

But Säbel would put his money on pissing off the head of the von Einzbern clan as the primary reason for why his adopted father first started the lessons.


	4. Chapter 4

It was Caster, the Servant who was also a Magus in life, who prompted Shirou to turn over the evidence that things weren't entirely 'acceptable' to the Fuyuki Police chief.

Specifically the fact he ran into what was clearly a Servant trying to find a new Master on his way back from the von Einzbern castle. One he had left pretty much trashed and the library all but stolen.

It was considered a grave insult to 'steal' the research of a Magus' family. It was worth a blood feud if they ever found out Säbel had made good use of a photo copier, a portable book scanner, and his laptop with an external terabyte hard drive to make copies of _every single book_ in the library in that castle. It had taken several months, some trial and error to do the same to the Makiri library (Sakura had to smuggle out books and return them before Zouken noticed, which took time and planning).

But now Säbel had something any Magus worth his salt would have killed for, or offered their first born child and heir.

The libraries and secret research of two noted families...and once he got his hands on the Tohsaka clan, he'd have books from all three founding families of the Grail Wars. Which meant theoretically he'd have everything he'd need to recreate it.

So when Shirou found Caster, and offered her sanctuary, he quickly found himself a newly fledged Master of a wayward Servant.

Caster, as it turned out, had been summoned by some idiot of a Magus from Clock Tower who had tried to rape her, had she not killed him before he could finish the Command. However it had left her without anyone to keep her powered, so she had fled.

Shirou was preferable to the creep who had summoned her. Even if part of the reason he agreed to act as her Master was so she could help him learn how to be a bigger pain in the ass to his clan and the von Einzberns while he retrieved his adopted sister.

Medea found his dedication to protecting his family (even if they were adopted) cute. Säbel only went along with it because he knew it would piss off the von Einzberns immensely, and as a Harvenheit petty revenge against the rival clan was something he enjoyed.

Especially since some idiot from a previous war had accidentally left copies of notes about the Justica model of Homunculi in that castle, and they either didn't know where he had put them or he had died before they could get the information out. Because mistakes like that were definitely worth killing a spare family member, since the Justica model often acted as the 'Lesser' Grail.

Either way, it was valuable and absolutely worth the hassle of copying that massive freaking library just to stumble onto those notes. Even if they were imperfect.

He was still going to summon a Servant later...he just hoped like hell he didn't get someone intolerable to them both...like Saber, aka King Arthur (who's real name was apparently Arturia).

It wasn't that Säbel didn't think a woman could fight or be a knight...Sakura could and was downright vicious if pushed the wrong way (he had never laughed so hard after seeing the look on Shinji's face when she was through with him). No, it have everything to do with Arturia's wish. A wish that Säbel, if given a chance would wax about for an hour at least about how much he disagreed with it.

Heroes rarely got the happy ending, they were lucky if they died of old age and were remembered. Arturia wanted to make it so she never became king, just because she disliked how her legend ended. And that pissed Säbel off immensely.

* * *

Shirou had the TV turned on (Caster was astralized, but Sakura knew she was there), and as they were about to sit down and eat dinner, the news came on with a big story.

" _Good evening Fuyuki. We go live in front of the Church on Koyuki Avenue after an anonymous source left a tip with the Fuyuki police about missing orphans."_

"Oh my kami," said Taiga, looking ill. She remembered the things that had been found in the sewers. Horrible things that made even the hardened enforcers of the Fujimura group throw up after seeing even some of the tamer photographs.

The research Shirou asked her grandfather to help with had brought some of those images back to the forefront.

They watched with horrified fascination as the reporter followed the police in a _thorough_ investigation of the Church, even going down far into the catacombs.

There had been a brief flash of gold in the corner of Shirou's eye that he would swear had the hint of red eyes in the camera, but it was gone before anyone noticed. They were too intent on the story.

Which probably meant Gilgamesh hadn't actually DIED after the fire. He might even join Shirou's side if he was quick and understood the arrogant king correctly.

Gilgamesh was an arrogant bastard who believed the entire world belonged to him, whether they liked it or not. He was also impossibly strong and not someone Säbel wanted on the wrong side. So what if he had to sacrifice his spot for a Servant to bring the one thing to keep Gilgamesh on his side? It wasn't like he needed the Grail, and keeping Gilgamesh happy meant he wasn't trying to skewer him.

Säbel was good at many things, but the one he prided himself most on was survival.

Let Shirou deal with the headaches. Säbel just wanted to research like any other Magus.

It was with horrified fascination that they watched as one rather rookie policeman accidentally stumbled on the first corpse. And then it all went down hill from there, as Kirei was locked up and thrown into prison without a trial until they found the extent of the sheer horror he had caused.

And since he was already doomed anyway, he couldn't exactly explain it was to keep a Servant around because that would just bring even worse trouble than a simple sealing designation.

Gilgamesh would definitely fry his ass if he _dared_ implicate the Golden King in his crimes.

Taiga went home...well, more like she had gotten drunk so she could sleep that night and Shirou had called her Grandfather's men to pick her up... and he turned to Sakura.

"Didn't you mention Rin took lessons in that Church?"

"Yes?"

"Well do you think we could get away with bringing a camera to record her reaction to what was under it?"

Sakura brightened in realization. A slow evil grin formed on her face.

"Do you want to stay here while I go out to see if that priest really was supporting a Servant?"

"Are you taking Caster with you?" asked Sakura intently.

"I'm taking my new sword with me, and if anything happens you can use Caster to blow up the Makiri mansion and blame me if it goes wrong," said Shirou automatically. Let it never be said he didn't care for his friends. "And if the Servant does kill me, then you can raid my workshop including the one that's almost impossible to notice and rub it in Rin's face later."

"That's alright then," said Sakura. A magus walked hand in hand with Death every time they did something that involved magecraft. At least Shirou and Säbel looked out for their close friends in the event of their death, which Sakura was proud to say she fell into that category.

Only a civilian would ignore that fact and worry about someone.

Shirou grabbed his new toy (which he had cleverly placed in the umbrella stand) and went outside. Somehow, he had the feeling it was going to be a long night.

* * *

Shirou almost literally ran into the Servant, which as Säbel suspected, was Gilgamesh. And he was not amused.

He took one look at the sword disguised as an umbrella and immediately pegged Säbel as a Magus.

He narrowed his naturally red eyes at him and stated flatly "You have exactly five seconds before I make you a red smear on the road, peasant. And I'm being generous."

Säbel shored up his survival skills and asked equally flat "Aren't you the King of Heroes, known far and wide from the _Epic of Gilgamesh_?"

A single sculpted golden eyebrow went up, almost silently impressed.

"So the little mage knows who I am. You've bought yourself another ten seconds."

"We both know that fool Kirei was using those children to fuel you after the last war. So I'm willing to offer a deal."

Gilgamesh didn't look impressed with Säbel at all. Instead he looked ready to skewer him for the presumption.

"I'm willing to use up my chance at summoning a Servant in exchange for bringing Enkidu into this war...provided you agree not to kill me or any of my allies unless they royally piss you off."

He very nearly got killed then and there for mentioning Enkidu. But the offer intrigued Gilgamesh because he had never heard any Magus offer to bring something back for something so...simple.

"You have my interest, boy. But what do you get in return for this arrangement?"

"I have no real interest in the Grail. I am, however, interested in royally annoying a rival clan and surviving this war without dying. If at the end of the war you get your hands on the Grail, it would make no matter to me," stated Säbel flatly. "I have also acquired the Servant of an idiot Magus from Clock Tower, so I would only ask of your assistance in the event that I am truly outmatched."

Gilgamesh observed Säbel carefully before snorting in disdained amusement.

"You have entertained me, boy. But should you fail to summon _him_ or try to use me for your own benefit, you will find my humor replaced with your sudden demise."

Säbel gave Gilgamesh a respectful, but not arrogant bow. That seemed to soothe the Golden King's annoyance. He could only hope to stay in his good graces once he found out Shirou was the one who sent in that tip that got Kotomine arrested in the first place.

* * *

Säbel had the circle outside, primarily because Sakura was going to use it after him. She already had the Command Seals, and if they played their cards right they could bribe Gilgamesh to destroy the Makiri mansion, with Zouken and Shinji with it.

Which meant no more worm pit.

Caster had found something interesting when she examined Shirou. A Noble Phantasm, one that he couldn't identify readily. So to insure he summoned Enkidu (with Gilgamesh supplying a small portion of the 'mud' that made up his friend), they placed the odd sheathe far away from the circle itself.

Whatever it was, it had an accelerated healing factor in the make-up.

Säbel used German, his original language. He had plans to see if he could pull off two summonings for the price of one Master. With his sword, he could pull in an energy potent enough to sustain several Servants.

Even Caster had commented on how...rich...this other energy was. It was almost like she could power her Noble Phantasm multiple times in a row without wearing out.

As the circle turned a greenish color, there was a blast of prana from Säbel and a lot of smoke. The figure was an earthy color, and had this weird feeling about him.

Säbel eyed the figure.

"Are you Enkidu?" he asked warily.

"I am, Master," said the figure.

"In that case... I believe you know an acquaintance of mine?" said Säbel, motioning to Sakura to open the door. He wouldn't dare call Gilgamesh a friend. He hadn't earned the 'favor' of calling him a friend and he knew better than to claim it.

Enkidu's eyes widened with surprise, seeing the arrogant king standing there.

"Gilgamesh."

Gilgamesh had an honest smile on his face, before he turned to Säbel.

"You've held your end of the agreement, Säbel Harvenheit. For that, I'll allow you to live. I may deign to help you if the request amuses me enough," said Gilgamesh.

Säbel made sure to bow appropriately to Gilgamesh. It was better to have him on their side than as an enemy.

"You are very gracious, my King," he said grandly. It was easier just to humor the arrogant king than it was to make demands.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu opted to take over the guest house, mostly because Gilgamesh had enjoyed Shirou's cooking. It made less of a commute anyway.

"Sakura, do you want to summon tonight or tomorrow?"

"We better do it tonight. If we do this right, then we can destroy the Makiri in one fell swoop," said Sakura.

In her mind, she wasn't a Matou or a Tohsaka. She was fully planning to become a Harvenheit if it killed her. But only if Säbel was interested.

"Do you want to use that sheathe to summon, or go for a pot luck?"

"I'll try to aim for something that matches me," said Sakura.

Caster and Shirou watched as Sakura used Sabel's circle, only she chanted in Japanese.

What emerged was a small figure wearing rather revealing clothing...it almost didn't cover anything at all.

"As you have summoned, I have answered. Are you my Master?" asked the little girl. She had ash colored hair and dead eyes. She had clearly seen and experienced too much in her short life.

"I'm your Master, but he's our Ally for this War," stated Sakura.

"You may call me Servant Assassin," stated the girl.

Something about the child stirred Sakura's dormant maternal instincts.

"So now that we both have a Servant, shall we eat up?" said Shirou.

"Absolutely. Assassin, you can sit between me and Caster. Shirou can sit next to the others," said Sakura firmly.

Assassin seemed surprised by Sakura as a Master, but she also seemed firmly attached to her.

"So...who's up for a post meal work out?" asked Shirou, with an evil glint in his eye.

"What sort of work-out?"

"The kind that leaves Shinji homeless, if he survives."

Sakura's eyes glinted as well.

"And what makes you think I would agree to this?" asked Gilgamesh.

"Do you know what a 'crest worm' is, my King?"

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed.

"A loathsome creature not worthy of my attention."

"There is a mansion in this city that is filled with the creatures...and their master has designs on the Grail. He was part of the original three, and no doubt will try to use Sakura here in an attempt to undermine your claim on it. I'm mere suggesting a preemptive strike that will...dispose...of the creature."

Left unspoken was the absolute hassle he had gone through removing and restoring Sakura's body one bit at a time, and the removal of no less than thirty of such worms. The result of which meant that the dark inner voice inside her head was finally silent, though the taint remained.

It also meant that if they destroyed the worm pit, then it would leave Zouken greatly weakened... weak enough that Säbel might be able to dispose of the being Sakura had been forced to call "Grandfather" once and for all.

A few feet away from the mansion, and Gilgamesh's lip was curled upwards in disgust. Any complaints about assisting in the removal of such filth had vanished after stepping one foot past the wards.

Disposing of the beings inside no longer seemed like a chore, but a necessity. And fueled by whatever energy Säbel had tapped into, he had the perfect tool to insure that the entire thing was destroyed with no chance of whatever lay inside escaping.

Good thing Sakura and Säbel had copied every scrap of research in the house months ago. Right down to the secret journals of Zouken himself, though that had been the hardest thing to get their hands on.

Gilgamesh drew his own personal sword, and with a single blow destroyed the house and everything unfortunate enough to still be inside.

Fortunately for Shinji, he had been out of the house getting dinner since Sakura hadn't bothered to leave him a scrap to eat.


	5. Chapter 5

When Rin got to school the next morning, all the students could talk about was either the arrest of Father Kotomine for multiple counts of child murder, or the explosion of the Matou mansion. Because the arrest came during a day off, Rin had no idea that the priest had been thrown in jail. She had been far more concerned about trying to find her father's notes on how to summon a Servant.

She had also been woken up rather rudely by that explosion.

So finding out that Shinji had been declared homeless because Sakura was now head of the Matou family (complete with what remained of the family crest) was a bit of a shock.

Rin was in a perpetual state of disbelief and shock all day, even finding out that while Shinji suddenly had to find a guardian or lodgings, Sakura had promptly moved in with the extra 'janitor', a boy Rin had previously ignored.

But the most shocking was learning about that damn priest and the fact that he had up to thirty bodies of dead children in his basement.

There was only ONE reason Rin could feasibly think of to explain the presence of dead children so soon after the fire.

That damn priest had been maintaining a Servant! Then another thought occurred to her, soon after that. If he had been maintaining a Servant, then with him in jail that meant there might be one still walking around without a Master.

When that thought hit her like a lightning bolt, Rin was rather eager to get out of school so she could hopefully hunt the errant spirit down and claim it for herself. She remembered how powerful some of the Servants from the last war had been, and that the only two to survive was her father's Servant Gilgamesh, or Emiya's Saber.

Either one would be a powerful addition to her team.

* * *

Shirou was not oblivious. He had been present when the 'epiphany' hit Rin, and had to fight in order to hide his amusement at the fact she thought she could 'claim' the extra Servant from the last war.

Rin was entirely unaware Säbel had already claimed the extra, or that he had Caster in his team. He made a note to ask Caster to keep an eye on the tiny Magus, if only for a good laugh. Odds were Sakura would join him, because watching her sister's frustration was sure to be hilarious.

Even if Shirou planned to use the sheathe (he would put it back inside him, because the thing was far too useful to just hand over, no matter who had previously owned it) as a catalyst, if only to figure out who the hell the Noble Phantasm belonged to originally.

He just hoped it wasn't King Arthur, or he might demand another Magus trade Servants with him. After hearing her wish, he had no desire to be stuck with the foolish King of Knights, no matter _what_ Gilgamesh had to say about the matter.

For a few hours, Shirou, Sakura and the Servants watched Caster's mirror as Rin searched in vain for the 'extra' that the priest had been keeping alive with the souls of orphans.

Then it got somewhat boring as Rin finally noticed the observer, because she stalked back into her home and the picture was cut off.

Gilgamesh openly snorted.

"She does realize that even if she _had_ found me, I never would have allowed such a spoiled princess to become my servant, correct?" he said to Sakura.

"Knowing my sister, she wouldn't have cared. Especially since she definitely would have recognized you because of the fact our...father...summoned you originally last time. She always was a daddy's little girl," said Sakura bitterly.

Gilgamesh was surprisingly easy to deal with. Mostly because she treated him like a version of Shinji that could back up his claims and had triple the arrogance. For the most part he was just an observer. As long as he had Enkidu, he could care less _what_ they did.

So long as no one brought snakes out, they could tolerate his existence.

Shirou cast the spell a second time. The first summon had been for Säbel. This time it would be 'his' Servant.

So when he saw who he had gotten with the catalyst in him, the first thing he did...was to bang his head against the hard wood of the doorframe.

"Why oh why kami did it have to be _her_?"

The catalyst belong to King freaking Arthur. The ONE Servant who's wish made him want to slap some sense into her.

Shirou's desire to be a hero might be naïve and somewhat foolish, but Arturia's desire to rewrite history pissed him off to no end.

"Are you my Master?" she asked flatly. She was as toneless as she was annoying.

Shirou opened the door, revealing the rest of the group, before asking Sakura with a pained expression on his face... "Sakura, do you think your sister would be open to trading?"

Sakura looked at the gobsmacked (and somewhat furious) Saber.

"Is she Saber class?"

"Do you really think I care if she is?" deadpanned Shirou.

"Considering her power levels, Rin might trade without thinking too much about it."

"Good. As far as she needs to know, this was what Kirei was hiding. Which means we get to enjoy the look on her face when she realizes _this_ (Shirou hooked a thumb at an increasingly angry Saber) isn't the extra."

"You. How many people are you killing to maintain..." started Saber furious.

"Zero," deadpanned Shirou. "Sakura, can you break open the liquor cabinet? I think we're all going to need it by the time she's done with her self-righteous ranting."

"Self righteous ranting...?!" shrieked Saber.

"I think Taiga emptied out the cabinet after that priest was arrested," said Sakura, thinking about it.

"Damn. Which means I'll have to pick some up later," said Shirou irritated. "So who wants to babysit Miss Priss while I go to work?"

"I'll do it, but I make no claim to what trouble _he_ might cause," said Sakura, looking at Gilgamesh specifically.

Gilgamesh tried for innocent, though he found this thing entirely amusing.

* * *

Okay, so she now had a massive hole in her roof, a _barely_ respectful sarcastic Servant, and she still hadn't found hide or hair of the extra the priest had been maintaining.

So imagine her shock when she ran into a literal stand-off between the hopeless 'school janitor' and what was clearly the von Einzbern representative.

She observed from a decent distance and was able to hear most of the exchange.

" _So you're Illyasviel."_

" _Hello, Nii-san,"_ said Illyasviel with an evil smirk.

Nii-san? What the hell? How did the idiot 'janitor' know the von Einzberns?!

" _I have a question for you."_

" _Oh?"_

" _Are you an von Einzbern or are you an Emiya?"_ asked Shirou flatly.

Illyasviel looked beyond confused and more than a little surprised.

" _Does it really matter what my name is?"_

" _Actually it does, in that your answer would determined whether or not I troll you like I plan to do the Tohsaka heir,"_ said Shirou.

What. Okay, now she was less interested and more irritated. The idiot Janitor thought he could...troll...her? Whatever that meant anyway.

" _What does troll mean?"_ asked Illyasviel, obviously confused.

" _Frustrate the living hell out of, like the Harvenheit clan does to the von Einzberns whenever they win the Oktoberfest for their mead,"_ said Shirou.

Illyasviel twitched, though it was debateable whether it was from amusement or irritation.

However it was clear Shirou had no intention of fighting Illyasviel right now.

" _Anyway my question stands. Are you a von Einzbern, here to kill me for what dad did during the last war, or are you an Emiya, which makes you the second member of the Emiya clan and my older sister?"_

Illyasviel stared at him.

" _You knew?"_

" _Dad told me he had a daughter, but he couldn't get her back from the von Einzberns because Jubestacheit was being an asshole about it,"_ clarified Shirou. _"I'll give you my number when you're ready to say definitively which family you belong to."_

Before Illyasviel turned to leave, she had to pause and ask _"By the way... Do you know who it was that trashed the foyer hall?"_

Shirou managed to keep his face innocent, but from her spot Rin had the distinct feeling he knew _exactly_ who had done it.

" _What foyer hall?"_

She was going to drag an explanation out of him if it killed him. Something wasn't adding up!

* * *

Archer mentally went over the Fifth Grail War in his head. There were a few subtle differences, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what had changed.

It wasn't Sakura. She was still infatuated with his younger self. It wasn't Rin, she was as clueless as he was about what was really going on. It wasn't Illyasviel, because she was still the same as always...outside of wondering who had apparently wrecked her castle.

Taiga was the same as always.

However the change seemed to be with the males.

Gilgamesh was out in the city, forced out of the church by Kotomine's arrest.

Kirei, the fake priest, had been exposed before he could take control of Lancer, who was apparently attached to some Irish Enforcer from the Fraga family. To be quite honest, this was the first war he could recall that she hadn't been tricked by the priest and lost her arm in the process.

Shinji was the same as always, save that he was now homeless...and if Archer had heard Rin's rants correctly, Nameless as a Magus. Which was pretty much the polite equivalent of turning him into a total outcast, if he hadn't been already for being Magus-born without a single useable circuit. Any chance of him gaining a Name were about as likely as the pain in the ass Troll known as Zelretch giving up his favorite pasttime.

Zouken... Zouken, as far as Archer could tell was dead. Very dead, because for some reason Gilgamesh had taken offense to the creature and completely annihilated the worm pit, and Sakura had apparently been cleaned out prior to the destruction.

He still hadn't figured out what that Golden pain in the ass had to gain from killing Zouken.

Which left Shirou. Shirou, who wasn't quite a True Magician, but had somehow become more interesting than he remembered.

Once again, Archer had the distinct feeling Shirou was at the center of whatever it was that sparked the changes in this war.

Archer just had no idea that he would soon get an up-close view of what the hell was going on. All he would remember was that something very weird was going on with "Shirou Emiya". And for once, it wasn't because of that damn Troll.

* * *

Rin followed Shirou back to his house...and ten seconds after he went in, he came right back out. And much to her dismay, he came out with her sister Sakura.

"Nee-san," said Sakura flatly.

"Sakura," Rin replied tightly. She still felt guilt about the fact she hadn't tried to reach out to her sister before now.

"Rin, what Servant did you draw?" asked Shirou, cutting to the chase.

"Why would I tell you?" she demanded irate.

"Because he found Saber and would be thrilled to trade her for a different Class," said Sakura.

Rin blinked, before her mouth dropped in absolute disbelief of what she was hearing.

"What."

"I want to trade Servants," repeated Shirou.

"WHY?!" cried Rin, absolutely baffled and confused beyond reason.

Shirou sighed, before looking at Archer who had materialized.

"What exactly is your wish?"

"To prevent my younger self from becoming a Counter Guardian," he stated with no little amount of amusement.

"Well Saber's wish is to basically throw away her own legend just because she didn't like the ending. And considering how many people she touched in spite of that, she's still willing to become a Counter Guardian and throw away all the sacrifices and the loyalty of her men. And since I really, really don't agree with that, I'm quite eager to ditch her as my Servant," clarified Shirou.

Rin's brain had clearly stalled.

"Just to reiterate, you're willing to _trade_ the Servant of the Sword, arguably one of the strongest Classes available...just because you didn't like her wish?" said Rin.

"Among other reasons, but that was the main one."

"How exactly were you planning to trade Servants?"

Shirou held up a dagger.

"I happened to have found this in my family's safe deposit box, and from what I could tell it's mainly to break magical contracts. If I sever Saber's first and then Archer's, then theoretically we could 'trade' Servants."

Rin was obviously suspicious...but seeing Shirou sever his own contract with Saber first was enough to convince her...besides, she found Archer's sarcastic streak beyond annoying. Not to mention she had been aiming for Saber to begin with.

Shirou watched as Rin left, thoroughly confused beyond reason and unable to question (read: demand) answers from him.

Archer turned to Shirou with amusement and open suspicion.

"You deliberately forced Saber on her for another reason, didn't you?"

"As far as she'll be aware, Saber was the extra left from the last war that Kotomine was powering. Besides, this way I get to continue confusing and irritating Rin without having to deal with the hypocrite," said Shirou.

Archer snorted, and then his brain immediately wondered if this Shirou was actually Zelretch in disguise.

Meeting Säbel later would not help this question, since Zelretch did have a German name.


	6. Chapter 6

Archer had to go over the Fifth Grail War he was in now.

 _'Let's start with the biggest change...Shirou now has a split personality and is an_ actual _Magus, Gilgamesh has taken HIMSELF out of the running, and Saber is with Rin almost immediately. What. The. Hell.'_

Finding Caster, an unknown Assassin, Gilgamesh and some fourth Servant he didn't recognize but was clearly familiar to the Golden King (which he realized meant that the fourth Servant had to be Enkidu), Archer knew without a doubt that this might very well be the most screwed up Grail War he was about to participate in.

At least Gilgamesh had 'graciously' agreed not to end him because he recognized Archer as a "Faker" almost immediately. Though he suspected it had more to do with Enkidu's presence than Gilgamesh actually becoming less arrogant.

"Could someone explain what the hell is going on?" Archer said finally.

Almost everyone looked at him with open confusion. Almost everyone.

Sakura smiled, clearly amused as she had evidently realized something Rin either hadn't noticed or hadn't cared about.

"Do you want the full story, or the cliff notes version...Shirou? Or should I call you Counter Guardian EMIYA?"

Shirou choked, while Archer winced.

Shirou seemed to size up his new Servant, recognized the resemblance, before he admitted defeat and allowed Säbel out.

"So you're what that idiot would have become if not for a slight variance," he muttered, and Archer raised an eyebrow at the distinct High German accent.

"And who are you supposed to be?"

Säbel looked at Archer, who flinched openly in surprise.

"Säbel Harvenheit. The fire might have wiped out the memory of my original name, but thanks to Acker I was able to at least retrieve my family name. And since 'Shirou' is a sword, I felt the name Säbel was most appropriate."

"...You do realize Säbel is German for 'saber' right?"

"The Harvenheit clan are the rivals of the von Einzbern, which means they are a German family. So yes, I am aware Säbel is German for 'saber' or 'sword'," deadpanned Säbel.

Archer raised an eyebrow, before asking "You're the one that trashed the castle at the edge of town. That's why he looked innocent when Illya asked him if he knew about the foyer hall."

"You know of a better place to practice destructive magecraft without notice? Anything that annoys those idiots is fine by me, and is definitely going to be approved by the family," replied Säbel flatly.

"Are you the one that destroyed the Matou family mansion with Zouken inside?"

"And got the priest arrested," admitted Säbel.

Gilgamesh narrowed his eyes at that, but the fact remained Säbel had given him back Enkidu and he had been growing tired of being stuck in that basement. As amusing as Kirei had been, this new 'Master' was at least interesting and wouldn't bore him to tears.

"How the hell did you manage that by the way?"

"Did a report on the Fuyuki Orphans, had Taiga's grandfather start asking some overdue questions on where they were now. He almost stormed the Church when he found out that none of those sent there were ever heard from again after the first two years. The memory of what the previous Caster did was still pretty fresh," said Säbel flatly.

"And how did you know Saber's wish before even meeting her?"

"Same way I knew who Gilgamesh was before I got Kotomine taken out of the equation. My teacher handed me profiles on all the Servants for the past four wars...though he kept a copy of the last Grail War's Rider."

That narrowed down who Säbel's learned basic magecraft from to one person.

"Waver Velvet El-Mellio?" guessed Archer. Säbel nodded.

"What he taught me, I taught to Sakura. She's actually very adept at magecraft, barring that crap Zouken tried to force down her throat. Especially when it came to manipulating jewel energy."

"Why were the...Harvenheit...clan interested in Fuyuki?"

"Potential marriage contract with the Tohsaka clan, since it also meant that any child of the union would have an automatic chance at the Grail. We're not entirely sure if the contract fell through, or if Rin simply has yet to find out about it," said Säbel immediately.

"Considering you're doing a disturbingly accurate portrayal of Zelretch, you better hope she doesn't find it, or if she does, that Sakura snatches you before she thinks to use it as a way to make your life hell," stated Archer.

Seeing the beatific smile on Sakura's face, it was clear her opinion on the matter. Come hell or high water she would kill Rin before she allowed her sister to use something as minor as marriage to try and use against Shirou. Especially since he freed her from Zouken and proved her father was wrong about his youngest. Archer shuddered...that smile was almost like "Dark Sakura", only far more vicious.

* * *

In her recently repaired castle (and she was going to make whoever did so much damage pay when she found them), Illya was doing some hard thinking.

Her 'brother' Shirou was like nothing she had expected. He had known about her, and had thrown into question where her loyalty actually lay.

Was it with the Einzberns, who tolerated her existence only as long as her 'Grandfather' made them? Or was it with the Emiya clan?

The question of which family she belonged to was given an answer when she heard someone knocking.

Now under normal circumstances she would have sent Berserker after whoever was stupid enough to enter her wards so brazenly since she found that mess in the hallway. But she recognized the lawyer that the Einzbern clan often hired to deal with the legal aspects of magecraft without having to bother reading all those annoying books.

Mr. Acker came in and cut to the chase almost immediately.

"Are you Illyasviel von Einzbern, daughter of Irisviel and Kiritsugu Emiya?"

"I am?"

"I was hired by your father to deliver this to you at the earliest convenience. I would have handed it over sooner, but your...grandfather...was rather stubborn about any communication from your sire."

Acker handed Illya an envelope.

"Your brother has the key to your father's safety deposit box. If you want to discuss terms, you will have to talk to him."

With that, Acker left. He had only come to deliver the letter several years late.

Illya carefully opened the letter. And what she read had her confused and very upset indeed.

Her father had tried to get her, to keep his promise of seeing her again. But grandfather had ordered the castle Homunculi to keep him far from her. So he had left "Shirou" (and this had her wonder why her father had made sure to emphasize the name) with the key to everything he had left after the war, and the family Crest. Shirou was considered the 'head' of the Emiya family by the Magus Association, though whether you could call it a 'family' with only two members was debatable.

The thing that baffled Illya the most was the fact that her father said if she really wanted to piss off the head of the von Einzbern family, she should consider joining Shirou.

Considering she had the feeling he KNEW who had trashed her current home, she had a reason to visit him anyway.

For the most part, and this was rather ominous for a Grail War, the week was relatively quiet.

The reason it was ominous was because quiet generally meant someone was planning something big.

* * *

While Rin was pleased to have Saber, she couldn't help but have the feeling she was being made a fool out of. The way Sakura had phrased how Shirou had 'found' Saber made her think that this was the extra, as she could vaguely remember seeing a similar Servant, only disguised as a man.

However Saber's attitude (and the way she clearly disliked her previous 'Master', who had so callously traded her like a cheap cardboard card) made her think that they weren't entirely honest about 'finding' her.

Still, since she couldn't exactly prove Shirou hadn't simply found her after Kirei was arrested, she would have to take their word for it.

Saber, for the most part seemed...fine...with Rin as a Master.

However, a lot of little things were suddenly not adding up about Shirou Emiya, or her sister.

Rin paid extra attention to the two, and started catching things a more observant Magus would have noticed years ago.

For starters, Shirou's odd bracelet with actual jewels on them. She could tell they were real, and automatically assumed they were from Sakura. After all, there was no way Shirou was a jewel mage, right?

Then there was the way he sometimes slipped into what could only be German, and High German at that. Spoken in only the most rural (and dangerous) areas known primarily for the fact it was owned by some very prestigious Magi-born families. Such as the von Einzberns for example, who practically owned the Black Forests.

She knew he wasn't an Edelfelt, because she would have known if one of THEM had come to Fuyuki, and Shirou had been living since since shortly before the end of the Grail War. At the very least, if he were an Edelfelt he would have announced himself if only to mock her.

However...she did vaguely recall that the heir of the Harvenheit family was supposed to come to Fuyuki to discuss a union of the two clans during the last war, but had no idea if they had come or not...or if the deal had fallen through.

Considering she had nothing to offer the Harvenheit clan, Rin never bothered to find out if they had come or not. She did hear that the title of heir within the family had been thrown into question though.

* * *

Shirou was about ready to go out and scout the competition when Archer found something in one of the drawers. The same one he kept his dad's letter in.

"What's this?"

It was a simple black choker with a gemstone cut into a long and thin shape. Because he had always had a fascination for swords, even as a child, it had been fashioned into the shape of an unusual dagger. The 'blade' was a plain diamond, with no real use save for an enchantment on the gemstone.

To be quite honest, Shirou/Säbel had long since forgotten they even had that.

"Huh. I completely forgot about that thing."

"What is it?"

"The thing that will determine who becomes the next head of the family or not. I still have a few years, but somehow I have the feeling I'm going to have to undergo whatever test that thing has in store for me before the war's over."

"...Next head of the family?"

"Instead of some grand test for all prospective heirs, they have a simple one. The 'heir' places a bit of blood on the gem given to them by the current head of the family before the age of twenty, and then they find out if they're next. According to what I was told, I'll get something within five minutes of putting blood on the blade. If nothing happens, then the title goes back to the current one. If something or someone appears, then I get the title and the Crest when the current head dies," explained Shirou.

As the Harvenheit liked to claim in the Clock Tower, their way of weeding out the unworthy heirs was more civilized than their rivals. At least their heirs didn't waste their time trying to off their competition and instead focused more on furthering their craft.

Then again, they found out the hard way that killing the other prospective heirs was a quick way to get blacklisted by whatever was doing the test.

Säbel couldn't wait to see their expressions if he managed to successfully 'steal' Illyasviel from the Einzbern clan.

Säbel switched with Shirou, and while outwardly the switch was easy to miss, for a trained fighter like Archer the change was immediate.

Shirou went from open and naïve to Professional Magus (and troll) in an instant. He was still friendly, but he wasn't as harmless as Shirou.

"I'm a Harvenheit, meaning I've got more experience and knowledge of Jewel magic than even Rin does, and three times the finances even before I take into account the family funding. Not to mention the fact we didn't _need_ Zelretch's scraps in order to rise to the top, unlike the Tohsaka. My parents came here in order to see if a marriage contract was worth sniffing out, and we still don't know if they found anything worthy of note because of the fire. Dad found out by accident when the family lawyer tracked me down, and a little hypnotism managed to drag what little was left of my original self before the fire wiped the rest out."

"Which is why you're worried they made a contract. If Rin found it and then figured out who you were..."

Säbel didn't bother to hide the shudder. He didn't mind fiesty girls, but Rin's Tsundere personality wasn't what he wanted. Sakura was subservient, but when her backbone came into play she could be quite vicious about protecting what was hers.

She was good at jewelcraft and her personality wasn't exactly what he would want in a girlfriend, never mind a wife.

"At this point I'm hoping if they did make one, then it's buried under a lot of paperwork," admitted Säbel.


End file.
